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Steven Moya

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Steven Moya
Moya with the Orix Buffaloes
TSG Hawks – No. 94
Right fielder / First baseman
Born: (1991-08-09) August 9, 1991 (age 33)
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Professional debut
MLB: September 1, 2014, for the Detroit Tigers
NPB: April 20, 2018, for the Chunichi Dragons
CPBL: April 3, 2024, for the TSG Hawks
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average.250
Home runs5
Runs batted in11
NPB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.249
Home runs39
Runs batted in139
CPBL statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.294
Home runs30
Runs batted in99
Teams

Steven Moya (born August 9, 1991) is a Puerto Rico born-Dominican Republic professional baseball outfielder for the TSG Hawks of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons and Orix Buffaloes.

Career

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Detroit Tigers

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Moya signed with the Detroit Tigers as a non-drafted free agent in 2008.[1] He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Tigers, batting .252/.361/.372 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI in 60 games. The next year, he played for the GCL Tigers, slashing .190/.229/.299 in 40 games. In 2011, Moya played for the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps, hitting .204/.234/.362 with career-highs in home runs (13) and RBI (39).[2]

In 2012, Moya had Tommy John surgery, which caused him to play in only 59 games for West Michigan that year.[3] He spent the 2013 season with the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers, posting a .255/.296/.433 slash line with 12 home runs and 55 RBI. Moya was added to the team's 40-man roster on November 20, 2013.[4]

Moya batting for the Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2013

Moya started the 2014 season with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves.[5][6] On June 24, it was announced Moya had been named to the All-Star Futures Game.[7] Moya was named the Eastern League All-Star Game MVP after he hit a grand slam in the fifth inning.[8]

On August 28, 2014, Moya was named the 2014 Eastern League Most Valuable Player. Moya finished the season batting .273 (142-for-515) with 33 doubles, three triples, 35 home runs, 105 RBI, 81 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, a .555 slugging percentage and a .306 on-base percentage in 133 games this season. Moya is the first SeaWolves player to be named the league's MVP since the SeaWolves entered the Eastern League in 1999.[9] Moya set a new single-season franchise record for total bases (286), extra-base hits (71), home runs (35) and RBI (105).[10] Moya was named the Detroit Tigers' minor league player of the year.[11]

Moya batted .265 (39-for-147) from August 1 on with 12 doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs. He finished the season with the Mud Hens batting .240 (120-for-500) with 30 doubles, 20 home runs, 74 RBIs, 27 walks and 162 strikeouts.

Moya made his major league debut on September 1, 2014, as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning, where he recorded a single in his first career at-bat off Austin Adams of the Cleveland Indians.[12] Following the 2014 season, Moya went on to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. In 23 games, he batted .289 with six doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 19 RBI. Moya was also named to the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game.[13]

Moya with the Tigers

He was called up by the Tigers on September 8, 2015, as a September call-up.[14] He was 4-for-25 in nine September games.

On March 26, 2016, he was optioned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.[15] On May 12, 2016, he was recalled from Triple A. He was optioned back to Toledo later, but was recalled again on June 16, 2016, upon an injury to the Tigers starting right fielder, J. D. Martinez. Moya was optioned back to AAA Toledo on July 17, 2016. After batting .324 in June with four home runs, he was 3-for-23 in July and had some defensive lapses in right field. Manager Brad Ausmus stated he wanted Moya to work on his outfield defense in a "less stressful environment".[16] He was outrighted to Triple-A on March 31, 2017, and split the year between Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie, accumulating a .213/.272/.405 slash line with 18 home runs and 50 RBI. Moya elected free agency on November 6.[17]

Chunichi Dragons

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Moya with the Dragons

On December 1, 2017, Moya signed a one-year contract with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).[18] On April 20, 2018, he made his NPB debut.[19] He finished his first NPB season with a slash line of .301/.347/.441 with 3 home runs and 16 RBI. In 7 games for the team in 2019, Moya went 5-for-22 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.

Orix Buffaloes

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On June 30, 2019, it was announced that Moya had been traded to the Orix Buffaloes for cash.[20][21] In 64 games for the team, Moya batted .244/.278/.397 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. On December 20, 2019, Moya signed a 1-year extension to remain with the Buffaloes.[22] In 2020 for Orix, Moya slashed .274/.324/.567 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 46 games for the club.

In the 2021 season, Moya played in 106 games for the Buffaloes. In 354 at-bats, he slashed .229/.261/.373 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI. He became a free agent following the year.

Gastonia Honey Hunters

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On March 7, 2023, Moya signed with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[23] In 11 games, Moya batted .432/.511/1.054 with 7 home runs and 19 RBIs. He was placed on the reserve list on May 16, 2023, in order to pursue an opportunity in Mexico.

Acereros de Monclova

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On May 16, 2023, Moya signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.[24] He played in 3 games for Monclova, going 2–for–9 (.222) with 1 home run, 2 RBI, and 2 walks.[25]

Gastonia Honey Hunters (second stint)

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On August 1, 2023, Moya signed with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[26]

TSG Hawks

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On January 24, 2024, Moya signed with the TSG Hawks of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.[27]

Awards and accomplishments

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Personal life

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Moya was born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents, and when he was 2 months old, his family returned to the Dominican Republic.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Iott, Chris (March 13, 2013). "Detroit Tigers prospect Steven Moya gets high praise in morning, three hits in afternoon". MLive. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "Steven Moya Minor, Winter, Fall & Japanese Leagues Statistics & History".
  3. ^ Kornacki, Steve (March 10, 2014). "Tigers taking a serious look at Steven Moya". Fox Sports. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "Tigers purchase contracts of seven players". MLB.com. November 20, 2013. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  5. ^ Kornacki, Steve (July 23, 2014). "Tigers prospect Steven Moya is tearing up Double-A pitching". Fox Sports. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  6. ^ Henning, Lynn (July 27, 2014). "Underrated Steven Moya showing he's destined for stardom". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  7. ^ Schmehl, James (June 24, 2014). "Detroit Tigers prospects Jake Thompson, Steven Moya named to All-Star Futures Game". MLive. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Cahill, Teddy (July 16, 2014). "Moya named Eastern League ASG MVP". MLB.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Steven Moya Named Eastern League Most Valuable Player". Erie SeaWolves. August 28, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  10. ^ "Moya Sets Records as 'Wolves Down Ducks". Erie SeaWolves. August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  11. ^ Slovin, Matt (September 12, 2014). "Moya, Kubitza take home Minor League Awards". MLB.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  12. ^ Iott, Chris (September 1, 2014). "Tigers 12, Indians 1: Miguel Cabrera has two home runs, four hits in rout of Cleveland". MLive. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  13. ^ Fenech, Anthony (December 7, 2014). "Steven Moya working on plate discipline to stay in majors". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  14. ^ Beck, Jason (September 8, 2015). "Tigers call up 4, designate Fields". MLB.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  15. ^ Beck, Jason (March 26, 2016). "Tigers option hot-hitting Moya to Triple-A". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  16. ^ Sipple, George (July 17, 2016). "Why the Tigers demoted Steven Moya, kept Tyler Collins". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  17. ^ "Minor League Free Agents 2017". baseballamerica.com. November 7, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  18. ^ Adams, Steve (December 1, 2017). "NPB/KBO Signings: Moya, Noesi, Bernadina, Paredes". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  19. ^ "モヤ、いきなり４安打デビュー 竜７回炎の７点大逆転". 中スポ 東京中日スポーツ (in Japanese). April 20, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  20. ^ "スティーブン・モヤ選手獲得のお知らせ". オリックスバファローズ公式サイト (in Japanese). June 30, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  21. ^ "オリックスが金銭でモヤを獲得！オリックスと中日の交換トレードも成立 ｜ BASEBALL KING" (in Japanese). Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "外国人選手契約締結のお知らせ". オリックスバファローズ 公式サイト (in Japanese). December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  23. ^ "Atlantic League Professional Baseball: Transactions".
  24. ^ "LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 16 de mayo de 2023". MiLB.com (in Spanish). May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  25. ^ "Steven Moya Stats, Fantasy & News". milb.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "Transactions – Atlantic League Pro Baseball".
  27. ^ "TSG Hawks Sign Steven Moya". cpblstats.com. January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  28. ^ Cahill, Teddy (December 10, 2014). "Fall League names 22 to Top Prospects Team". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  29. ^ Yamell Rossi Jesni (October 28, 2015). "Steven Moya, de corazón criollo, nacido en Puerto Rico" (in Spanish). Diario Libre. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
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